Time Remembered is a modal jazz standard composed by jazz pianist Bill Evans.
Evans biographer Keith Shadwick says that it is "one of Evans's deeply-felt ballads, its strong melody arising from a very busy harmonic pattern, recalling music by Rachmaninov and Chopin." [1] American jazz pianist Jack Reilly says that the work is influenced by both the sixteenth century modal works of the polyphonist masters (Palestrina, Byrd, Frescobaldi, etc.) and the works of impressionist composers (Debussy and Ravel). [2]
It was recorded for the first time in 1962 with a quintet featuring Zoot Sims for the album Loose Blues , which was released only posthumously in 1982. According to pianist Warren Bernhardt, though, Evans had said to him, "God, I hope they never release those tapes after I die!" [3] Nonetheless, Evans biographer and classical pianist Peter Pettinger praised this recording: "The mellow lyricism of 'Time Remembered' evoked a warm response from Sims." [4]
The first release of a recording of "Time Remembered" wasn't until 1966 on the album Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra with an orchestration by Claus Ogerman. Other earlier recordings eventually came to light, including a trio recording from 1963 with Chuck Israels and Larry Bunker, released by Milestone in 1983, and trio and solo recordings from November 1965 in Copenhagen, released on the 2-CD set Treasures in 2023.
Various later live trio versions of the piece exist, notably the one from 1974 on the album Since We Met with Eddie Gómez and Marty Morell. Evans's final recording of it dates from 6 June 1980, which appeared posthumously on the 6-CD set Turn Out the Stars: The Final Village Vanguard Recordings . Although many Evans recordings of "Time Remembered" are currently available, only two were authorized for release by the pianist during his lifetime: the one with Ogerman and the live trio version from the Village Vanguard from 1974. [5]
Producer Bruce Spiegel's 2015 documentary about Evans aptly takes its title from this composition, and it begins with a video recording of Evans playing this piece solo. [6]
The piece has been recorded by various other artists, including Oregon (1977), the Kronos Quartet (1985), Fred Hersch (1990), John McLaughlin (1993), Chick Corea with Gary Burton (2012), the Jim Norton Collective (2013), and Joey Alexander (2018). In 1994, Paul Lewis added lyrics to the piece, although it's challenging to sing because of the wide intervals, ranging upward to a high C-sharp, a note associated more with opera than with popular standards. [7] The vocal version was recorded by Kendra Shank for her album Mosaic (Challenge, 2009) with pianist Frank Kimbrough.
The work is built over four modes, dorian, phrygian, lydian, and aeolian, and is notable for lacking dominant-like seventh chords, thus using only major and minor chords and their extensions (and employing many added 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths). According to Reilly, these two factors give the work a modal and impressionistic flavor. [2] Shadwick notes that the piece "moves unexpectedly in its harmony and has an unusually long verse structure, forcing the soloist to concentrate hard on his shifting position within the maze." [8]
William John Evans was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continue to influence jazz pianists today.
Portrait in Jazz is the fifth studio album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans as a leader, released in 1960. It is the first of only two studio albums to be recorded with his famous trio featuring bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian.
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New Jazz Conceptions is the debut album by jazz pianist Bill Evans, recorded in two sessions during September 1956 for Riverside Records.
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Undercurrent is a 1962 jazz album by pianist Bill Evans and guitarist Jim Hall. The two artists collaborated again in 1966 on the album Intermodulation.
Intermodulation is a 1966 jazz album by pianist Bill Evans and guitarist Jim Hall.
Everybody Digs Bill Evans is a trio and solo album by jazz pianist Bill Evans. It was released in early 1959 on the Riverside Records label.
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Marty Morell is a jazz drummer who was a member of the Bill Evans Trio for seven years—longer than any other drummer. Before joining Evans, he worked with the Al Cohn-Zoot Sims Quintet, Red Allen, Gary McFarland, Steve Kuhn, and Gábor Szabó.
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Bill Evans Trio with Symphony Orchestra is an album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans and his trio, released in 1966, featuring jazz arrangements of works by classical composers Granados, J.S. Bach, Scriabin, Fauré, and Chopin. The trio is accompanied by an orchestra consisting of strings and woodwinds arranged and conducted by Claus Ogerman. Originals by both Evans and Ogerman are also included.
Bill Evans at Town Hall is a live album from 1966 by American jazz pianist Bill Evans and his trio. It is his only commercial trio recording featuring drummer Arnold Wise, and it was the last recorded appearance of bassist Chuck Israels as a regular member of the trio.
Quintessence is an album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans. It was recorded in 1976 for Fantasy Records and released the following year. At this time usually playing solo or with his trio, for these sessions Evans was the leader of an all-star quintet featuring Harold Land on tenor saxophone, guitarist Kenny Burrell, Ray Brown on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums.
Intuition is a jazz album by pianist Bill Evans and bassist Eddie Gómez released by Fantasy Records in 1975.
"Waltz for Debby" is a jazz standard composed by pianist Bill Evans, which became "his most famous tune." He first recorded it as a brief solo piano piece on his debut album, New Jazz Conceptions (1956). Lyrics were added about six years later by Evans's friend Gene Lees. "Debby" in the composition's title refers to Evans's then 3-year-old niece, Debby Evans, whom he often took to the beach.
The Tokyo Concert is a live album by jazz pianist Bill Evans with bassist Eddie Gómez and drummer Marty Morell recorded at the Yūbin Chokin Hall in Tokyo, Japan, in 1973 and released on the Fantasy label.
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"Nardis" is a composition by American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. It was written in 1958, during Davis's modal period, to be played by Cannonball Adderley for the album Portrait of Cannonball. The piece has come to be associated with pianist Bill Evans, who performed and recorded it many times.
"Funkallero" is a jazz standard composed by the pianist Bill Evans in the mid 1950s. Evans biographer Peter Pettinger notes that it bears "more than a passing resemblance to Bud Powell's 'Un Poco Loco.'" Evans himself said of his composition, "I was getting into kind of a swing thing, and this line just naturally came out of that feeling. It's a natural vehicle for blowing."